CIFIKA begins a bold new chapter with ‘HEX’

Ten years into a career built around experimentation and reinvention, CIFIKA is taking full ownership of her sound. The Korean electronic artist has released Old Fantasy, her first EP produced entirely by herself and one of her most personal projects so far.

At the centre of the EP is ‘HEX’, a striking focus track that captures CIFIKA’s newly defined aesthetic. A repeating piano figure sits alongside synth bass and strings, while dozens of vocal layers gradually turn her voice into something much larger. As CIFIKA describes it, the effect is like “thirty people singing through one person”.

Rather than following a familiar structure, ‘HEX’ builds continuously for three and a half minutes without offering a conventional resolution. It then stops abruptly, leaving the tension hanging in the air. That lack of release feels deliberate, giving the track an unsettled quality that suits its dense, almost choral production.

The layered vocals also connect to CIFIKA’s earliest musical experiences. She began singing in a children’s choir at the age of six and has since developed a technique of recording every vocal part herself, stacking individual performances until they sound like a room filled with voices.

‘HEX’ represents more than a new track. It is the clearest example of what CIFIKA sounds like without another producer’s perspective shaping the final result. Although previous collaborations helped her build expansive worlds across electronic music, pop and performance, they eventually left her questioning where her own ideas ended and somebody else’s began.

Old Fantasy gave her the space to answer that question. By writing and producing the music herself, CIFIKA has created what feels like a second debut, rooted in her memories, emotions and artistic identity.

Those memories run throughout the EP. Opening track ‘Who’ was shaped by the emotions CIFIKA experienced during the declaration of martial law in South Korea during the winter of 2024, before moving into a memory from when she was six. ‘Mine’ offers an unguarded confession about a childhood crush, while ‘Passing a gossip’ reflects on a friendship destroyed by rumour. ‘Lullaby’, meanwhile, moves between childhood comfort and nightmare through unusual, otherworldly samples.

Her influences are equally varied, stretching from a childhood surrounded by classical music and choir to the music of Frank Ocean and Amy Winehouse during her teenage years. Later discoveries such as Grimes, James Blake, Lorde, Four Tet and Oneohtrix Point Never helped open the door to a more experimental approach.

That willingness to push beyond expectations has shaped CIFIKA’s career from the beginning. Since releasing her debut EP INTELLIGENTSIA in 2016, she has become an important figure within Korean electronic music while building an international following. In 2018, she completed a 20-city tour of the United States, then the longest run of US dates by a Korean artist.

Her music later caught the attention of Romy from The xx, who approached CIFIKA to rework her solo single ‘Lifetime’. She has also carried her ideas into visual performance through HYDROVOX, a series where imagery responds to live audio in real time. HYDROVOX 2.0 was recognised as a standout performance at SXSW 2022.

CIFIKA is also a two-time Korean Music Awards winner, taking Best Dance & Electronic Song for ‘My Ego’ in 2018 and Best Electronic Song for ‘Hush’ in 2024. Beyond her own releases, she has contributed to projects across art, fashion and K-pop, including scoring a Louis Vuitton show featuring BTS and remixing music connected to Seulgi of Red Velvet and ITZY.

The visual world surrounding Old Fantasy also introduces a new group of collaborators. CIFIKA worked on the artwork, photography and video with Noh Jae-hoon of RUFF DRAFT, while the ‘HEX’ music video was directed by Melt Mirror, whose previous work includes projects with aespa, Silica Gel and HWI.

With ‘HEX’, CIFIKA enters her second decade without losing the curiosity that has always driven her music. This time, however, the ideas feel closer to the surface. There are fewer filters, fewer outside perspectives and nowhere for the emotions to hide. Old Fantasy is the sound of an artist rediscovering herself, and ‘HEX’ makes that transformation impossible to miss.